


The Why's To The No's

by soncnica



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Childhood Memories, Episode: s06e02 Two and a Half Men, Gen, One Shot, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-23 03:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23738455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soncnica/pseuds/soncnica
Summary: Dean and Ben talk.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	The Why's To The No's

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes you might find.  
> Story 1st written -> Oct 5, 2010

Dean knocked on the door, a light _taptaptap_ with his knuckles.

"Ben?"

No answer.

He remembered Sam like this… locking himself in the bathroom, coz that was the only other room available. He'd knock then too but Sam ignored him. Was pissed and sulking too much and ignoring was the only way of making Dean pay for whatever was wrong.

_Knockknock_ ; knuckles hitting the wood.

"Ben, come on dude."

Sam made him wait too; hours sometimes. Silently locked in the bathroom, sometimes not a sound came out. But sometimes… sometimes Dean could hear little hitching breaths that turned into hiccups later on.

_Knockknock_ ; a little harsher, a little louder.

"Ben, I just wanna talk to you, man."

That line never worked on Sam either. Sam didn't wanna talk, he wanted to know that Dean wasn't pissed at him or that Sam didn't do anything wrong, but most of the time, Sam was waiting for Dean to apologize.

Rattling the door knob; the door remained silently locked.

"Ben, open the door. 'm sorry, man, okay? Sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have."

Okay, that usually made Sam get out of the bathroom. Usually with a bad case of brooding and pouting but… he at least came out so that Dean could go in to use the freakin' toilet.

"Ben?"

Panic started to crawl up his spine; what if something got to Ben? What if something... what if the shifter got to Ben? What if a demon, the djinn, a Shtriga, something, anything... got to Ben? On his watch? Because of his screw up?

He gripped the door knob with more strength, trying to turn it left and right, but the door... was locked tight. White piece of wood mocking him; a hard barrier between him and whatever got to Ben.

"Ben, buddy, open the door. I just wanna talk to you, okay? Come on. Seriously, Ben open the door."

If he kicked down the door... would Lisa be pissed?

_Boomboomboom_ ; hitting the door with his fist, chocking on fear.

"Ben, come on... man, open the door right now."

The fear from before became terror now. He was terrified; terrified that he screwed up, he let something happen to Ben, to an innocent kid…

Something clicked. The door opened with no noise at all. Ben's eyes were huge and red… just like Sam's were… sometimes.

Dean swallowed down the panic and the terror... _'s okay... Ben's okay_.

The words ' _why didn't you open the damn door when I asked you too! why didn't you answer me, damnit!_ ' were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them. That would be too much like how his Dad was; yelling and ordering and angry at everything him or Sam did. He didn't wanna be like that, he never was like that with Sam and he should keep himself from becoming like that.

He didn't wanna be like that... not to Ben who was standing wide eyed at him, with eyes red and fingers curled into fists by his sides.

He looked so much like Sam did when they were kids. So much.

"Hey, kiddo. You left me standing here, dude. So not cool."

Ben's lip turned upwards, but his head went down to hang between his hunched shoulders.

"Mom," he motioned to Ben if he can come in, "said," he stepped into the room, "you've been in here for hours." and sat on the bed. Soft bed with a soft pillow and covers that smelled like fabric softener. So much like what home should be.

He remembered hard beds and pillows and the smell of cigarettes or alcohol on the covers when he sat down besides his brother to talk. Or just to watch TV.

Ben stood in the middle of the room, his hand still holding the door knob.

Dean sighed.

"I, uh... came to tell ya that 'm sorry. For... you know, yelling earlier."

"Are you gonna go away?"

The words were... not what he expected. He expected... well he's not really sure what he expected, but it surely wasn't that. The kid is smart, damn he is smart.

Just like Sam. Sam… he could get the truth out of him with just one question, hell sometimes, even with the way he looked at him.

"I don't know."

Ben shuffled his sock clad feet, unclenching and clenching his fingers into fists.

"I didn't mean to... 'm sorry."

"'s okay, man."

"I didn't mean to make you angry."

"You didn't... it wasn't your fault. Ben, hey, come on... I shouldn't have yelled at ya, it wasn't your fault. I should've been more careful, I should have kept the key hidden someplace safer, I should've…" he rubbed his hand over his mouth, he was just so tired, "should've known better."

"I really didn't mean to... it just looked cool... the gun."

How many times has he thought so too? How many times has he thought that holding a gun and shooting shit is cool? How many times? Sam hated guns, he hated them, hated to practice his shooting, hated everything.

"'s not cool. 's not cool at all, man. You can hurt someone with that, kill 'em. 's not cool, 's dangerous. Just…" this is such a cliché "…keep away from guns, okay?"

Ben walked over to his bed and sat down near the pillow, hands between his knees, head down looking at the floor.

He didn't look up when he said: "So... are you gonna leave?"

He asked his Dad that same question so many times, in so many nights… always the same question, always the same answer: _"I'll be back soon, kiddo. Keep an eye on your brother." "Yeah, Dad, I will."_ And that was followed with endless minutes of explaining to Sam where and what and why their Dad was not there for days.

Dean looked out on the hallway that could be seen through the half open door and wished he had a different answer for the kid.

"Yeah, but just for a little while."

"Yeah..."

He bumped Ben with his shoulder: "I'll be back. You won't even notice 'm gone."

"Mhm..."

"Ben, I'll come back, you know I will."

Ben whispered: "Yeah, yeah I know."

He always knew, even with everything going on, that his Dad will always come back. Until the day he didn't.

They sat in silence for some time, enough time that the silence became comfortable.

"You miss your brother?" Ben whispered to the floor and shuffled his feet, turning his toes inwards.

Where were all these questions coming from?

"I," he rubbed the back of his neck, "hah," _he's changed, he's not the man I knew, he's not Sam anymore, he's different, he's not the man I raised,_ "yeah, yeah I do." _but he's still my brother_.

"Wish I had a brother."

"Brother's are a pain in the ass, my man."

"Yeah, but still..."

"Ben!"

Lisa's voice cut through that awkward conversation. He hoped that that was not Ben's subtle way of telling Dean to… yeah, he just hoped that it wasn't that.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." He patted Ben's knee while getting up from the bed.

"Be-en!"

"Coming Lis'!"

"Come on before your mom eats everything, you know how she is."

Ben padded behind Dean into the hallway.

Like Sam did so many times… follow him around everywhere.

**The End.**


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